Accessing First Day Access Materials (FDAs)

Issue/Question

What is First Day Access (FDA)?

Where are my required online books?

How do I access my inclusive access materials (First day access materials)? 

I have more than one VitalSource account, how do I merge my accounts?

Why has my book disappeared?

Why am I encountering a paywall when accessing my materials?

When I access my material, the material is not correct (wrong edition, courseware instead of eBook only), who should I contact?

How do I access my eBook through Course Dashboard in D2L?

Environment

• usd.textbookx.com
• USD Online Bookstore
• Akademos
• Desire2Learn(D2L)
• VitalSource.com
• Course Dashboard

Cause

First Day Access (FDA) is a course material delivery model where faculty adopt an eBook or Courseware, and the digital content is sent automatically to students on or before the first day of class. The cost of the material is applied directly to the student's regular university bill as a separate line item charge, along with tuition and fees. The materials are shown in the bookstore but the student is not billed through the bookstore. 

Resolution

1. To access First Day Access (FDA) course material, go to your MyUSD portal
2. Sign in with your USD credentials
3. Select the D2L icon
4. Select any Course
5. In the red banner at the top of the page, select Resources, select USD Bookstore & Course Dashboard
6. You are now in the VitalSource Course Dashboard
7. If your course uses First Day Access (FDA), it will be marked as First Day Access.
8. The text name, edition, FDA pricing (may not including sales tax), opt out date and the date when the material will be available to access are listed
9. Important FDA course material information will also be emailed by the online bookstore prior to or by the first day of class
10. For FDA courseware, depending on the publisher, materials will either be made available through your professor's Desire2Learn(D2L) course Content page or through the VitalSource Course Dashboard under Resources. Refer to #5 above
11.  When accessing your FDA material, please contact the instructor immediately if:
    •  You encounter a paywall on the publisher site. You should not be asked to pay for the material on the publisher site. The instructor should contact the publisher rep to fix the issue.
    •  You notice the course material is not correct (e.g., wrong edition or courseware when should be an eBook only, etc.). The instructor should contact the publisher rep and online bookstore (faculty only: help@vitalsource.com) to resolve the issue.
    • You receive an error message when accessing the course material. The instructor should contact the publisher rep to resolve the issue.
12.  If you do not need digital access, you can elect to opt-out of using the FDA material by the deadline